After a protracted campaign to make it happen, Major League Baseball (MLB) agreed to set aside each June 2 to pay tribute to the late Lou Gehrig, the legendary New York Yankees first baseman whose career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The inaugural “Lou Gehrig…

Maze Therapeutics is advancing the development of a lead gene therapy candidate for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which works by suppressing the activity of a potent genetic modifier called ATXN2. Genetic modifiers are genes or genetic variants that can increase or reduce the severity of a condition without necessarily…

“I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.” Last week, the Jimmy Cliff version of that Johnny Nash composition played over…

I’m always on the lookout for self-care strategies that help me cope and live with my ALS. Recently, I added two quick and easy skills I call “self-care minis” to my ever-growing list. They help me stay cool and calm when I have a super busy day. Why do I…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $450,000 grant to a university research team to explore mutations in the FUS gene that contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and to study genes showing a potential…

As anyone affected by a rare disease knows, treating the illness while trying to go about everyday life is an expensive undertaking.  But exactly how expensive — in terms of direct and indirect costs across rare disease populations — might still come as a surprise: almost…

After my husband, Todd, was diagnosed with ALS, we thought he would have at most five years to live. We started with only two major goals: take a family vacation together with our toddler and preschooler, and build an accessible home. We did both of those things within the…

“They’re gonna put me in the movies, They’re gonna make a big star out of me, … And all I gotta do is act naturally.” — Johnny Russell Two weeks ago, I referenced several catchphrases from…

Biogen will not offer early access to tofersen, its experimental therapy for familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene, at least until data from its pivotal clinical trial are analyzed. Now in its Phase 3 portion, the study (NCT02623699) is testing the…

Retrotope has dosed the first patients in its recently-initiated Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating RT001 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Enrollment is open across four European sites for patients ages 20–75 whose disease symptoms began less than three years ago and do not need…